It matters the environments we put ourselves into. It matters over the long term because it affects how we feel, which in turn affects our performance, self esteem, and overall outlook on life. This is why I’m determined to create a school environment that nurtures the tender, growing brains and hearts of our kids and, likewise, the adults. Everything from how the staff and teachers interact with one another and the students, to how well the teachers are able to care for themselves and supporting them to be able to do so.

A child’s world is really small. It’s made up of the few places they inhabit and the people they interact with daily. This is good, because their growing minds would be overwhelmed by too much worldly input. It’s also an opportunity to make these environments -- the child’s entire world -- as nurturing, welcoming, positive, warm, and supportive as possible. 

Because at the end of the day, human beings learn easier and more deeply, when they feel good. 

When kids are in a loving, safe environment they learn to trust themselves, which gives them the edge of discernment as teens and adults. They learn to communicate well, which puts them in positions of leadership. They learn self discipline, which is simply doing what needs to be done but with a feeling of accomplishment -- a dopamine hit, in brain terms. 

Kids naturally are self disciplined, but they start bumping into our adult neurosis from babyhood and learn coping mechanisms in order to fit into their worlds. And to us, this presents itself as chaos or lack of discipline in the child. However, this is just another good reason we need more positive, transparent, nurturing, and loving environments outside of our own homes that our kids can learn and thrive within.

The Oak School strives to be an environment where we can continue to allow children to be themselves, while teaching them how to be collaborative and in community. Skills like listening to themselves is key to trusting themselves enough to fully show up in a collaborative situation with honesty and enthusiasm. More importantly, being able to listen to oneself is the initial step into being able to fully listen to another. 

These basic, human qualities are behind our greatest achievements as individuals and as a species. And they’re often ignored or at best a second-thought, because they’re not necessarily quantifiable in the short term -- although they certainly are in the long term. In our school environment, these qualities are modeled and taught side by side with academics. We can do incredible things in the world when we feel empowered, we have healthy self esteem, we have a loving community behind us, and we are kind to ourselves and others. Incredible things. And it all starts with how we teach our kids. 

The mental healthiness, the social healthiness, the emotional healthiness...it’s all built into the environment of The Oak School, so our kids are free to be their incredible selves now and as adults. Our wholeness is important, starting at the individual level and expanding outwards like ripples in a pond.